Wednesday, Dec 18, 2002
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By P. S. Suryanarayana
The `U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee', which met in Washington (during the early hours of today Tokyo time), discussed the ``full range of issues'' which fell within the definition of their bilateral ``security alliance''. On the global-scale anti-terror issues, in particular, the U.S. appreciated Japan's "sense of commitment'' as reflected by a "pacifist'' Tokyo's latest despatch of a high-tech destroyer for non-combat logistical back-up for the American forces in the general area of Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. The U.S.-Japan Committee, also known as the Two Plus Two, met after a one-year delay that was caused by the terrorist strikes against American targets in September of 2001. The U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, and the American Deputy Secretary of Defence, Paul Wolfowitz, conferred with Japan's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Yoriko Kawaguchi, and Minster of State of Defence, Shigeru Ishiba, who is also the Director General of the Japanese Defence Agency. In comments to the media at the end of the talks, Gen. Powell said: "We (the Americans) have no intention of attacking North Korea. Quite the contrary, we have been working with the Japanese and the South Koreans and the Russians and the Chinese in reaching out to North Koreans to try to assist them with their problems of poverty, with their economic problems. And, that effort to move forward in dialogue with North Koreans has been stopped and put back by North Korea's actions with respect to enriching uranium. And, their announcement to open up Yongbyon (the site of nuclear power plants that could yield plutonium) has complicated our efforts to reach out to North Korea''. As for Japan's possible role, consistent with its anti-war constitution, in the U.S.-led efforts to disarm Iraq of its suspected capabilities to produce and deploy weapons of mass destruction, Gen. Powell said he would "not speculate'' about what Tokyo "might or might not do''. However, he underlined, the U.S. and Japan "are in the closest coordination'' on issues concerning Iraq. The Joint Statement, issued at the conclusion of the latest Two Plus Two meeting, noted that "the Ministers acknowledged the need to continue current U.S.-Japan cooperative research on ballistic-missile-defence technologies and to intensify consultation and cooperation on missile defence''. It was in this context that Tokyo "reaffirmed that a ballistic-missile-defence system is an important consideration in Japan's defence policy which is exclusively defence-oriented''. Despite being a `pacifist', the Japanese side noted that "a ballistic-missile-defence system would be an inherently defensive capability, to which there would be no alternative''. The two countries reiterated their view that their "bilateral security arrangements'' would continue to be "the cornerstone of peace and stability in the Asia Pacific region''. However, Japan and the U.S. recognised and ``reaffirmed the importance of China's playing a positive and constructive role in the enhancement of regional stability and prosperity''. This recognition does not at all indicate any move by Japan and the U.S. to co-opt China as their strategic partner within the connotation of the security alliance that exists between Tokyo and Washington.
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